


Tiny Rainbows

by chwangdol



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: A/B/O Only bc I Didn't Want to Make Up Galra Words, Alien Biology, Alpha/Omega, Awkward Sex Talk, Love, M/M, Mpreg, Non-Graphic Description of Labor, Second Galra Puberty, Unplanned Pregnancy, Workaholic Shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 12:45:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15685710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chwangdol/pseuds/chwangdol
Summary: Sometimes Keith's Galra half likes to make itself known. This is one of those moments, and Shiro isn't sure how to handle it.





	Tiny Rainbows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eufoeria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eufoeria/gifts).



> This was meant to be a short drabble, but then it just started writing itself. It was also supposed to be about Shiro and Keith having 4 kids but oops. Inspired by Twitter convos, general appreciation for pregnant Keith, and my desire to write a pregnancy fic that didn't contain morning sickness.

Shiro almost jumps out of his own skin when Keith’s voice calls out to him in the dark room. He’d been so fixated on the screens in front of him he hadn’t heard the door open, and he’s been a little out of it too. Probably from the fact he’s been up going on 30 hours now, but that can be fixed later.

“Shiro,” Keith calls out again, this time more soft and concerned, “You okay, Cap’n?”

Despite his tiredness, a wave of pleasant shivers run through him at Keith’s use of his title. It’s enough on its own without the way Keith says it, just the slightest hint of a lazy drawl that makes it so much more softer and intimate.

“Yeah,” he breathes out, shutting down the screens so only the light that escapes the thin blinds is illuminating the room. It does wonders for his head.

“How long have you been up?” Keith asks, but Shiro deflects, answering with a question of his own.

“You got back from your special Galran doctor appointment?” he tries to make his tone teasing, but he knows it’s lost in the sleepiness.

Keith grunts out an affirmative and is then hoisting Shiro up out of his chair. Shiro didn’t even notice him walking across the room, “We can talk about it after some sleep, come on.”

Half of his brain tells him to let himself be dragged to his bed, the other half is screaming that it’s still late morning and if he goes to sleep now his sleep schedule will be even more of a mess, and he should hear about Keith’s doctor’s appointment, he’d been acting really weird the past few weeks.

He lets them get to the room and out of the shower before he brings it up again.

“So what’d they say?” he finally asks, and Keith’s face scurries across a wider arrange of emotions than Shiro usually sees in a week.

“Sit down,” Keith tells him, still so soft and patient, and Shiro both hates and loves how easily it relaxes him. Keith could be seriously sick! It’s not a time to relax!

Keith takes a deep breath, picks up one of Shiro’s clean undershirts but doesn’t put it on, just looks at it for a bit before wadding it up again.

“So you know how last year I went through that weird Galran second puberty thing and my genitals got all rearranged?

Shiro nods, it’d been a very odd but overall rewarding set of circumstances. Random fucks across the Garrison are much easier when you don’t always need lube on hand.

“And you know how Xolok and all the Empire’s doctors all told us that Galran omegas are only capable of mating with Galran alphas?”

Shiro’s eyes widen as he nods again. His brain is going a mile a minute trying to process Keith’s words.

“Well, turns out they were wrong, and, ugh,” he clutches the lump of fabric in his hands and his eyes look right into Shiro’s, “I’m pregnant.”

He knew what the words would be before Keith said them, but his mouth still falls open. His legs are moving on their own and just like that he’s pulling Keith into a hug, only remembering to be mindful of the cold metal against his bare back after Keith lets out a short gasp, but Keith pulls the arm back to holding him when Shiro tries to pull it away.

Shiro knows he should say something, tell Keith there’s nothing he would love more than to start a family with him. He never expected to live long enough to have children and never expected to have one of his _own_ either.

“It’s, um, it’s a boy. Shit, sorry if you wanted that reveal to be a bit more dramatic, but, he’s healthy and doesn’t have the genes they expect caused your illness when they looked at your DNA. I know it’s a really weird time to be born into, but hey we’re helping to bring up Earth’s human population again.”

Shiro feels his eyes start to water as Keith rambles, rubbing soothing circles onto Keith’s back, enjoying the ripples of his muscles there as Keith moves to press his hands onto Shiro’s chest.

“Say something, Takashi,” Keith begs, quietly, and that does it, the waterworks are coming.

He grabs Keith’s hand to press against his lips, smiling when Keith moves to cradle his face at its release.

“I love you, Keith,” he finally says, his voice is hoarse from lack of sleep and the tears that fall down his face, “There’s no one else I’d rather start a family with.”

Keith’s smile at his words sends warmth through Shiro’s entire body, it gives him enough energy he feels like he could easily stay up another 30 hours.

A deep breath escapes from Keith’s mouth before he starts rambling again, “I was thinking of names on the way back from the base, tryna calm my nerves, y’know. Most of them are crap, but now we can make a list together. I mean, we probably won’t _know_ until we meet him, but we could have a few ideas.”

Shiro captures his lips in a kiss to shut him up, feels his body tense up even more for a second before turning into putty in his arms.

“How far along?”

Keith tenses up again at that question, “Six months.”

Shiro feels like he’s physically blown back, eyes immediately going straight to Keith’s stomach. The only difference he can see is the lack of usual defined abs.

“Galra carry babies a little further back apparently,” he grabs Shiro’s hand to lead it over the slightest bump, taking up more of his tummy than Shiro expected.

“Where the hell are any of your organs?” Shiro can’t help but ask in shock. It gets a short laugh from Keith.

“Very squished, but they’re managing. Xolok said I’ll probably start showing outwards a lot more these last few months.”

Shiro nods, not taking his hands away from Keith’s stomach. The more he stares the more he can see the changes. He’s a little wider, with much less defined lines. There’s also a slight swell to his chest that evens it out, making it more subtle.

The euphoria and awe can only last so long before the inevitable stress and guilt start clawing away at them.

God, he’s been so focused on work, nights spent with Keith involve _maybe_ a heated makeout session and spooning before they’re both out of it, but a large chunk of the time Shiro’s sleep is made up of sporadic naps on any comfortable surface he can find.

Keith has been just as busy as he has, leading Voltron and working alongside Kolivan and his mother to straighten out the shambles of the Galra Empire.

He has no idea if Keith’s been eating healthy or getting enough sleep or not drinking caffeine and alcohol, has no idea if Keith’s been throwing himself in the path of danger.

How does he think he can handle a kid if he can’t even pay attention to his significant other?

“--ro, _breathe._ We’re all okay, Shiro, we’re all okay,” Keith’s voice smothers his thoughts down until they’re a quiet hum instead of a roar.

He doesn’t remember sitting back on the bed, but that’s where he is now. Keith is beside him, concern in his eyes but a gentle smile on his face. One hand is clutching his, the other a gentle squeeze on his thigh.

_Way to go making him worry, Shiro. Off to a great start._

“You’ll be a great father,” Keith tells him, resting his head on his shoulder

Shiro lets his metal hand pull Keith closer, “I’ll do my best, baby,” he breathes out into Keith’s hair, “Both my babies.”

\--

Shiro decides to take on less responsibility around the Garrison straight away, despite Keith’s protests.

“He needs you to make the world a better place,” Keith had told him.

And he still is, he’s just allowing himself to call in favors a bit more, stopping himself from volunteering where he’s not truly needed.

He goes with Keith to his next doctor’s visit and cries puddles when they show him their baby. With the alien tech, it’s not just a normal ultrasound, they show him so much more than the grainy black and white images he was expecting. He takes a whole stack of photos with him.

Keith wants to wait a bit before telling everyone, wants to give them time to process it for themselves before causing even _more_ chaos, and Shiro understands, but he also wants to tell every cadet and officer and alien he passes that he’s going to be a dad to a beautiful baby boy.

When they do tell them, Lance is the first one to react. He calls bullshit, won’t even believe it when Shiro (albeit reluctantly) gives him one of the scan photos he’s hoarded. Keith won’t let him see a scan live, and gets annoyed when he spends more than 30 seconds feeling his stomach, so they let him live in denial.

Pidge’s first reaction is a flurry of scientific and personal questions that they either can’t answer or are too uncomfortable to.

Hunk starts crying and pulls Keith into a bear hug that lasts way longer than anyone, especially Keith was expecting.

Allura is quiet but smiles, keeping her distance, and Keith is quick to include her, inviting her to feel the bump that can now be noticed from the side (but only if you’re looking for it).

After that, she’s asking questions a million miles per tick.

Have they decided on a name yet? When did they find out? What is a proper baby gift for humans?

They’re all things they’ve thought about until she finishes with, “Will you be moving off the base? Or at least out of the Garrison living quarters?”

It must be obvious they’re at a loss because Coran chooses then to chime in, “We could whip you up a right nice family home somewhere on the grounds!”

Shiro thinks it’s a great idea, but one look at Keith suggests the feelings not mutual. It’s not something urgent, he has to remind himself. Their living quarters will work just fine for them and a baby.

Iverson and the rest of Garrison staff all try to convince Shiro to take more time off, but when he uses Keith’s reasoning they back off a bit.

“I’ll make the world a better place for him,” becomes his manta, his driving force when the guilt comes gnawing for not spending enough time with Keith. It’s a difficult balance, one he’s never been good at.

\--

Around the seventh month is when Kosmo starts getting super protective of Keith’s belly. Shiro understands the wolf on a very deep level, he really gets where he’s coming from, but his intense stare and occasional growls every time Shiro touches Keith’s stomach start to become a little much.

Kosmo sends a collection of visitors, officers, and cadets to the infirmary after they accidentally bump into Keith, sometimes even for just coming close to his belly.

Keith tells him he’s gotten after him, but Shiro knows Keith, and he knows his ideas of “scolding” Kosmo are, “What’s upset you?”, “Please stop getting into trouble, okay?”, or “Hey, don’t bite if it’s not necessary.”

They’re laying in bed one night, Shiro’s hand resting on the upward slope of his bump, and Kosmo laying his head on the other side when Keith blurts out, “Do you think he has the ability to teleport the baby out of the womb? Like, could he just do that instead of me having to go through labor?”

Shiro’s eyebrows immediately knit together in concern. Kosmo’s expression mirrors his when he lifts his head to look at Keith.

“Are you worried about giving birth?”

He knows he shouldn’t be surprised by the shrug and answer of, “Nah, I just think it’d be cool,” it’s Keith, afterall.

“He would have to transport inside of you for that to work, Keith, don’t think that could happen.”

Keith hums in thought, “I dunno, sometimes I think he can transport things without touching them. Maybe he has mind-transport powers.”

Kosmo looks unimpressed by Keith’s musings.

\--

In the last month of his pregnancy, Keith finally looks like he could pass for someone in their second trimester. His body adjusts astonishingly well. Pidge makes a comment about how his belly doesn’t look gross, surprisingly, and despite the poor choice of words, Shiro understands what she means.

His skin isn’t stretched impossibly tight over the bump, it doesn’t look like anything is trying to fight their way out of his belly.

Despite the constant reassurance from both human and Galran doctors that the baby is developing at a normal rate for humans, Shiro still wonders if maybe their son will need a few extra months in there.

Keith’s tired more than usual, and Shiro finds it harder and harder to decline invitations to hold him while he naps.

Shiro had heard about “pregnancy glow,” before, but he never understood it until now.

He’s falling deeper and deeper in love with Keith every time he sees him,

But he’s not the only one who notices the healthy glow. It has countless people fawning over how good pregnancy is to him, and Lance’s sister going off on a Spanish tirade.

When he asks Lance about it, he tells him his sister said Keith just looks like he gave up on exercise and is eating too much of Hunk's food, but Veronica gives him a more honest summary on how unfair she thinks it is he looks like _that_ pregnant when she looked like a “beached whale,” and finished with some very insensitive words about how the quantity of Galra in the universe makes sense now.

Shiro laughs, but it sparks an understanding for him, too. Why _not_ breed like rabbits if all Galran pregnancies are like this?

One downside to it all is that after mentioning how great Keith is handling his pregnancy, he accidentally gets a short Galra Sex Ed lecture from Kolivan.

“The Galra have more sexes than humans, and more variation within them, too. During a Galra’s second puberty some present as alpha or omega,” Kolivan tells him, and Shiro immediately tries to back out.

“Yeah, I mean, I learned about this when Keith, ugh, presented. Omegas can only be bred by alphas and all that,” he cringes at his own use of the word “bred.”

“Yes, but we didn’t quite go into detail about all of that. It’s seen as rather primitive by your species, I believe. Omegas exist to be bred, and alphas exist to fulfill this purpose. Despite having less choice of mates than others, their pregnancies are usually much smoother, and their offspring much stronger. It was very important for the survival of Galra early on, nowadays the genes have become rare as overpopulating is the bigger concern.”

Shiro nods along, it’s pretty basic stuff, but the idea of Keith “existing to be bred,” makes his skin crawl.

“Heats and ruts are also troublesome for modern Galra, but you two won’t have to worry about that. Heats are only triggered if there is a fertile alpha around consistently, and since you two are mated, you won’t have to worry about an alpha being around Keith,” Kolivan pauses for a moment and regards Shiro with an intense stare, “Although you were able to breed him despite being human. Perhaps you could eventually trigger a heat in Keith as well.”

Shiro doesn’t like the sound of that one bit, “Ugh, well, like you said, not galra, not an alpha.”

“Yes, your seed must be exceptionally strong.”

Shiro feels his consciousness trying to crawl back into the black lion.

“I, ugh,” he stumbles over his own feet as he turns to look for an escape route, “toilet.”

He’s glad he doesn’t walk fast enough to miss Kolivan’s call of, “I will see you at the meeting tonight, then.” Now he knows to skip that.

\--

Shiro doesn’t know what he expected it to be like when Keith goes into labor. He always pictured a dramatic rush to the infirmary after he gets a phone call while leading a meeting.

What he gets instead is trying to get a half-awake Keith out of bed and into his arms after he woke him up with a few grunts of displeasure followed by his water breaking.

He calls the infirmary to let them know labor started and that he’ll get Keith there right away.

Keith seems way too relaxed in his arms, insisting that he can walk. He wants to protest when he gets Keith to the room set up for him and the doctor’s seem to agree with Keith. They let him walk around, and he gets shooed out of the room when he tries to reach out to help him every five seconds.

Krolia is quickly sent to time out alongside him, but Shiro learns it’s for the opposite reasons. Apparently it’s common for Galra in labor to use a training dummy or punching bag to relieve stress and discomfort.

They sit together impatiently as other people file in to wait with them. A shout from the room has Krolia grabbing his human arm so hard Shiro is surprised he doesn’t hear a crack of bones.

They’re both through the door as soon possible, trying to stay on their best behavior.

He’s relieved to hear it was just a painful contraction and plants himself firmly in the chair closest to Keith when his doctor says they can stay if they don’t cause Keith any stress.

It takes much longer than Shiro realized, and he’s getting impatient and antsy with worry and the sense that he should be _helping_ somehow. He talks Keith through any discomfort, uses his floating hand to give Keith any and all massages he wants.

There’s no screaming, Keith hardly looks like he’s feeling any discomfort when the baby finally comes. It makes sense, given Keith’s pain tolerance and injuries he’s sustained in battles, but it all seems so anticlimactic.

Expectations are all forgotten and trampled when he finally sees their baby in Keith’s arms.

He’s so small and beautiful and fits so perfectly swaddled there. There are people in the room around them, the doctors telling them it was a healthy birth, people congratulating them, and others shushing them to let Keith and Shiro have a moment.

He knows they’re there, but he doesn’t see them, couldn’t tell you who was in the delivery room to welcome their baby to the world. Everything is a blur around him and all noises muddle into white noise. All he sees is the small, wrinkled human bundled in Keith’s arms.

He has no idea what to say, he’s completely lost for words. Their baby grabs at Keith’s finger and wiggles a little. Shiro looks up to see Keith smiling with watery eyes.

“He’s here,” Keith whispers, so mumbled that Shiro can barely make it out.

Shiro has no idea what to say, can’t think of words to describe how he feels.

When Keith looks at him, he stops searching and says the first thing that comes to mind.

“Thank you.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank my period and my cats for these emotions. Unedited, so if you see any spelling or grammar mistakes that really just burn your butter let me know.
> 
> Talk to me on Twitter: [babypeche](https://twitter.com/babypeche)  
> Or Tumblr: [babypeche](https://babypeche.tumblr.com/)


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